


A Trip to The Unknown

by acolove



Category: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-19
Updated: 2017-01-19
Packaged: 2018-09-18 12:16:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9384638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acolove/pseuds/acolove
Summary: A long train trip gets Feyre and Rhysand next to each other. Despite their different motives, the journey unites them.





	

**Author's Note:**

> My very first fanfic! I'm really excited with this one. Hope you all enjoy it.

It would be a long night. After spending 2 hours in a cab to get to this train station, there would be more 18 hours on the train itself. That’s absurd. I have never ever heard of a trip so long., especially by train. But it has to be done. Why did my family have to live so far away? Well, actually, I moved out. But it doesn’t change the fact that we live so apart from each other.  
Is has been 3 years since I last saw my family. I remember how my father told me to never return, to leave them and never look back. I guess he won’t be very happy in seeing me. I’m the younger daughter of a broken man. My mom died when I was little, so it was just me, father, Nesta and Elain. My sisters were really close, a true family. Maybe it was because of the age difference, but their little family never included me.  
Now, I’m going back to that house empty of love and solidarity, and without any warning. I wasn’t planning a family gathering, but the circumstances asked for it.  
I found my seat by the window. If I were lucky, no one would sit next to me and I could spend the next hours sleeping or thinking about what would I say when I get home. Home. That house was not my home. I realized I had no such thing.  
Apparently, I was not a lucky person. The person sitting next to me was the most handsome man I’ve ever seen. He was tall and had a muscled body, his hair was dark as the night, but his skin was brown and tan. His violet eyes were staring at me as he offered his hand to me.  
”I’m Rhysand” He smiled at me.  
I took his hand and offered a smile, so obviously fake. “ I’m Feyre”  
He took his seat next to me as I turned to the window, watching as people passed through the gates and into the train. I couldn’t stop thinking about everything that happened and how much of it I could blame on myself. Maybe everything.  
I heard the man next to me clearing his throat “ So, what makes you travel all the way to Prythian?”  
“Reasons” I didn’t even bothered looking at him.  
“That’s quite vague”  
“That’s quite none of your business”  
After my response, he seemed to understand that I was not looking for small talk, or any talk at all. I fell asleep the second the train begun to move. Only 18 hours to go. I can do this.

__

I woke up with someone gently shaking me, but with all the bruises on my body it hurt and I groaned at the touch. Rhysand, apparently, pulled away at the sound.  
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you” He looked sincere, but it made nothing to improve my humor “I just wanted to say that they’re serving food right now. Some sort of dinner, if you find this eatable”  
I murmured thanks while waiting for an attendant to bring me some soup, or whatever it was.  
Rhysand was looking at me while I tasted my soup. It wasn’t all that bad. “I didn’t know they served food here”  
“It’s to make the costumers more comfortable. After all, it’s a long trip”  
“Indeed” I guess they weren’t so preoccupied with the costumers comfort judging by the side of the bowl. It was enough to feed a little bird, but not me.  
“They also put together who they think will be the most compatible” he was now smirking.  
“Really?” I looked up at him  
“Yes, and since they were right about the soup, maybe they’re right about us”  
“So you’re telling me that this is not just a train, but a love train?”  
“Yes it is, Feyre darling” His smile only grew “And I intend on asking you out on a date by the end of this little lobe journey”  
“I don’t think this will happen, Rhysand” I was smiling now.  
“Rhys”  
“What?” I looked confused at him  
“Call me Rhys” He explained, “That’s how my friends call me”  
“Okay, Rhys” I saw something shining in his eyes for just a moment because of the use of his nickname. “But I must warn you: friends don’t go on dates together”  
“Maybe I want us to be more than friends”  
“So I guess I will just have to call you something different. Maybe prick”  
I heard his laugh as I looked back to my soup and finished eating it. When I turned to the window, I only saw trees passing by in a blur. Maybe sitting next to Rhys was my share of luck.

__

Rhysand and I talked for the next 3 hours about all the possible light subjects. I told him I was taking an arts course but I was also taking a break to visit family. I didn’t told what was the real reason, or who was the real reason. He told me he just graduated on business and was returning to his hometown to take care of his family company. We were from neighboring towns but never met.  
I told him all about my family: how my father was never the same after my mother died, how Nesta was the most difficult person I know, how Elain is the exception to our family, how she is kind and naïve. He told me his parents died when he was little and their company was taken care by his uncle, but now he was read to lead. He told me about his friends ate the city, whom he called “The Inner Circle”, and how he missed them while he was away.  
I tried not to look sad when he told me about them, but I’m sure Rhys noticed. I got jealous because I didn’t have anyone to miss. I was not close to my family, I was never the friendly kind of girl. Well, until I met him. Tamlin made me feel like no one ever did. He loved me so fiercely and I loved him back. Then we moved together to the other side of the country and I never talked to anyone again. Since now I was going back, it was safe to assume that it didn’t end well.  
Think about him ruined my mood and I decided I should sleep some more. Rhysand understood and went to sleep too.

__

Only 8 hours left. I woke up again at the middle of the night. Rhysand was sleeping, just like everyone else on the train. Seeing him sleep brought me so many bad memories I couldn’t help crying. I thought about the hell I’ve been through and all the nights I’ve spent crying while Tamlin slept next to me as if nothing had happened.  
I turned to the window again, and tried to be the most quiet as possible, Unfortunately, I was not capable of suppressing some sobs. After a few minutes, I felt someone holding my hand. It only made me cry harder.

__

He didn’t ask me what was wrong, which only made it worse. I decided I would tell him the truth, I would tell him everything. I don’t know if it was the fact that I was never going to see him again, or if it was just him, but it felt easy to tell my story. And I felt lighter.  
“His name is Tamlin. We met in high school and he was my first love. I’ve never felt so beautiful, or desired, or loved as I felt when he looked at me. So it was easy loving him. We dated for a year and it was perfect, he was perfect. But then we graduated and he was moving to somewhere so far away and I was afraid no one would ever look at me like that again. So when he asked me to live with him I said yes, never hesitated. My father told me to never come back, to make a living far away from them. And so I did.”  
I would stop eventually to drink some water or look at Rhys for a response, but he was serious, and his face didn’t give anything away.  
“Everything was so perfect at the beginning. I thought I was dreaming. But after a year, he started to change. He became so jealous and possessive, never letting me meet the few friends I made, to a point that I had no friends at all. He was getting aggressive when I confronted him. That’s when he started hitting me” I saw anger on Rhys’s eyes, but I didn’t stop. “He would punch me or kick me in places no one could see and I just got lost. I stopped caring, confronting, asking. I just did what he wanted. But it was never enough. So he would hit me and make me “compensate” him in the bedroom for all the discomfort I caused. To make sure I never left the house, he locked me in our room and he would leave me there all day long. I couldn’t call my family because I chose to leave them. I chose this life”  
I stopped for a moment, looking to anywhere but Rhys. I couldn’t meet his gaze, not after admitting I knew it was my fault. God, I felt so pathetic.  
“It lasted a year. Until- well, until today. There was this party at this amazing gallery, and the owner and a lot of artists would be there. It was a great opportunity to make contacts or maybe even get a shot at an exposition. But he had a football game and wouldn’t let me go without him. I guess I just wanted it so bad I thought it was worth fighting for. I’ve never seen him so angry.” I took off my scarf so he could see the marks on my neck, probably deep purple by now. His eyes widened at the sight. “He tried to kill me, so I stabbed him. I don’t know how the knife got in my hands and I don’t know how I managed to escape, but I did. I grabbed a few things and took a cab for that train station and just bought a ticket to the only place I could think of. And I don’t know how I will face my family after that, because worse than being with someone like him is accepting it. And I did”  
After what appeared to be hours in silence, I looked up at Rhys and saw only kind and understanding. He grabbed my hand and squeezed it. I realized how tired I was after telling all this and leaned onto Rhysand, falling asleep right after, with my head pressed against his chest and his arm over my shoulder.

__

He was stroking my hair while we told each other the worst jokes we could remember. We’ve been like that for the past hour. He didn’t say anything about what I told him and I was glad. I didn’t want to hear his judgment, or worse: his pity. It was easy to just talk about nothing, but never stop talking. We shared headphones listening to his ipod. Our tastes were so different, but I liked what he introduced me to.  
It was morning already and we were just 2 hours from our destination. We ate some fruit salad they gave us and we just spent the rest of the trip like that.

__

I was waiting for a cab with my bag hung on one of my shoulders when Rhys told me his car arrived. He offered me a ride but a just needed a time alone.  
“I want you to know that it was not your fault, it could never be your fault. I think you’re very beautiful and very brave” His words didn’t surprised me as much as the kiss he placed on my cheek. His lips were soft and warm and I wished he had kissed me for a longer time. He pulled away and got into his car, not after waving ate me by the window.  
My cab came few moments later and I got myself comfortable on the back seat. Now, I was certain having Rhysand sitting next to me was a luck sign.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey. I happy you made it to the end! If I get a positive response from readers I will continue with this! Much love


End file.
